Abe's government argues the efforts are necessary given growing defence challenges in the region, including tensions with North Korea. Japan says the secretive expansion of China's military footprint creates "strong concerns" in the region. The five-year plan approved Tuesday assumes record defence spending of 27.47 trillion yen ($242 billion) through March 2024. Japan's newly approved five-year plan assumes record defense spending of 27.47 trillion yen ($242 billion) through March 2024 | AFP/FileAbe has aggressively expanded Japan's alliance with the United States. And the new fighter jets would be stationed at existing ground facilities, not on the ships, he said.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 18, 2018 07:07 UTC